This thread brings back memories. I bought a pair of IT's in '82, a 465 and a 175. My first real dirt bikes, that 465 would lift the front end with just a thought and a twist of the throttle. My 450EXC has a similar feel today, but not as explosive. Thanks for the memories!

who rides their IT465 on the street much? is it hard to find rebuild parts for them and are they super finicky with the jetting like the 490's? I'd like to do a 2t single cafe bike, and the IT465 was on my short list of big bore aircooled 2t with a wide range trans and lighting coil.

You'll find that Yamaha's are by far the easiest brand to find parts for old models, right from the dealer (if the dealer will bother to actually check what's still available and order it in). There still should be plenty of aftermarket stuff around too (Wiseco, Vesrah, etc.), and you'll see plenty of used and NOS parts for these bikes on eBay.

I've ridden my '94 KTM 440 EXC on the street some, and to be honest, it isn't very pleasant. The vibes really get you, the bike isn't very happy to hold a sustained engine speed, and the noise draws a lot of attention (not necessarily good attention, if you follow). I'm not sure if the IT's had a cush drive rear hub, but that would really help on the street too.
Of course, YMMV.

Well I started racing enduros over the past 2 years, and this bike has been neglected, so I decided that I am going to turn it into a supermoto/street tracker project.

The project should go quick....a frame powder coat, new top end, collect some parts, and then lower the suspension. Then a little paperwork magic....

Hopefully I will have the street version of an IT465 in just a few weeks!!

Any ideas or suggestions would be great!!

I have a new Clarke tank in White, and I am planning on doing the frame in white, and to try and get a nifty seat/tailpiece ala cafe racer. Some rearsets, street tires, and maybe freshen up some of the aluminum bits...a VERY BUDGET, VERY SCARY street bike....hopefully I won't bend the connecting rod twisting the throttle too far!

Well I started racing enduros over the past 2 years, and this bike has been neglected, so I decided that I am going to turn it into a supermoto/street tracker project.

The project should go quick....a frame powder coat, new top end, collect some parts, and then lower the suspension. Then a little paperwork magic....

Hopefully I will have the street version of an IT465 in just a few weeks!!

Any ideas or suggestions would be great!!

I have a new Clarke tank in White, and I am planning on doing the frame in white, and to try and get a nifty seat/tailpiece ala cafe racer. Some rearsets, street tires, and maybe freshen up some of the aluminum bits...a VERY BUDGET, VERY SCARY street bike....hopefully I won't bend the connecting rod twisting the throttle too far!

Gidday Sorry for reviving an old thread but Here's my two 465's, the stock one has been slowly rebuilt from a wreck over the last 5 years, the other one is freshly rebuilt from the remains of the donor bikes bought to repair the first one, the forks are from an 89 Husky 510 with an XR600 rim adapted to fit. the engine is a YZ465G barrel with a YZ490J crank with the IT465H clutch and gearbox.. a real bitsa but it's good to see it together again!!

hoping to revive the thread and keep the wealth of knowledge flowing. here is a crazy idea i have been throwing around. norra or vegas to reno with an IT490! so these were the WRs of their day, with higher gearing and bigger tanks. is there a difference in suspension between the IT and YZ? i see 490s for sale all the time in my area and the occasional IT490 for pretty cheap. so i think it would be a cool vintage desert racer. lets say i find a clean YZ, can i swap an IT transmission straight over? ive seen some info on the internet stating the IT was rated somewhere in the 35-40hp range and the YZ was in the 47-55 hp range. is there really that much of a difference in the motors?

These big bore air head smokers are a dying breed, so I started looking for them. Found one for $500 that actually ran. Pilot was plugged so it wouldn't idle. No big, just needs a carb cleaning. I am hoping to plate it and use it as a gravel road machine. I have considered swapping chassis or just front ends in search of better brakes. At this point, I don't know what all the options are.

One of the best bikes I ever had was an IT200, trophied first time out with it. Got to ride many of my friends IT's, 175, 250, 400, 425, 465, and 490....even an WR500. I just hate to see this thread die.

If you are running it on the street, just wondering what silencer/spark arrestor yoou are using. Mine came with a DG pipe and a stock arrestor hay wired on. Just what might take some of the bark out of it?

If you are running it on the street, just wondering what silencer/spark arrestor yoou are using. Mine came with a DG pipe and a stock arrestor hay wired on. Just what might take some of the bark out of it?

Zaptoad,

Yes... I have a vintage tag on this bike and have it insured with Hagerty along with my vintage streetbikes.

I am running a DG pipe as well. I bought a FMF universal silencer/spark arrestor. It came with a stinger pipe extension and a mounting tab.

Here is a photo of a my setup as I am positioning things before I weld it. I first positioned the silencer where I wanted it to mount to the frame (using the supplied clamp and yamaha rubber mount). I then cut the stinger extention to the proper length. The stinger slides into the DG pipe. Instead of clamping it, I chose to weld it to reduce the posibility of leaks than can damage the plastic number panel. The silencer is then clamped to the other end of the extention.

You can see how the mounting tab is also positioned on the extention in preperation of welding. Here too I used a yamaha rubber hanger bracket between the frame and the mounting tab.

This setup works well. The mounting is solid and clean. The FMF silencer is just barely acceptable noise wise. I do wisk it was a little quieter though. I recently came across a pretty massive aluminum silencer/spark arrestor that some one told me was off a husky. Given its size I would think it would be quieter. I may give it a try some time in the future.

The IT490 is a bit of a wild beast. I dont ride it on the street much as it wants to entice me into doing something that will get me arrested... hope the photos help.

Had an IT465 in '86 before I went in the army. The only thing that has scared me more was watching the flight surgeon coming towards me putting on a rubber glove. Felt about the same after both incidents.

Thanks for the noise info, I'll keep looking. On another note, I picked up a 88 YZ490 complete chassis for $200 with disk brakes. This way I can jump it back and forth depending on what I'm using it for.